A 40 Year "Retrospective Journey"

November 8, 2008

A Snapshot in TIME

November 8, 1968I've been reading the November 8, 1968 edition of TIME Magazine. A survey of the stories provides a wonderful snapshot of that moment in history. Highlights include... the Vietnam War; Yugoslovia; the Suez conflict; the nuclear arms race; and the RFK Memorial Foundation.

"THE Viet Nam war has divided and demoralized the American people as have few other issues in this century... The war's ugliness, and the often misunderstood reasons behind U.S. participation in it, greatly contributed to the rebelliousness of America's young..."

YUGOSLAVIA: In Case of Attack. . .Friday, Nov. 08, 1968"We have nurtured our sovereignty with the blood of our people, and no one is going to take it away from us."Marshal Josip Broz Tito

"WITH those defiant words, Yugoslavia's President recently reiterated his country's determination to remain free and independent. As the East bloc's original heretic, who broke with Moscow in 1948, Tito is concerned that the Soviets, having acted to quash a much more recent heresy in Czechoslovakia, may also move against him..."

"When the first shells whistled in, off-guard Israeli troops were playing a Sabbath soccer game. Within moments along the 70-mile Suez front, Egyptian gunners had opened up with everything from long-range artillery to Russian-made Katyusha rockets. In all, 15 Israeli soldiers were killed and 34 wounded, mostly in the first rounds. The Israelis fired back, accounting for five Egyptian dead and nine wounded..."

"The life-or-death question of how the U.S. would come out in a thermonuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union has a nagging habit of cropping up shortly before Election Day. In 1960, the Democrats' misleading charges of a "missile gap" served to confuse and alarm voters. This year it was Richard Nixon who sought a last-minute advantage. "The present state of our defenses is too close to peril point," Nixon charged in a radio speech, "and our future prospects are in some respects downright alarming. We have a gravely serious security gap..."

"A Passionate Intent"Friday, Nov. 08, 1968"...Last week his [Robert Kennedy] widow, sisters and surviving brother established a memorial that they hope will accomplish some of what he sought to do. On the sloping back lawn of the Robert Kennedy home in McLean, Va., the family announced its plan for a Robert F. Kennedy memorial foundation. "We hope to form several task-force groups," said Edward Kennedy, "and to enlist the young. It is a most appropriate memorial—a living memorial —to carry on his concern, compassion and interest in the unmet needs of our country..."

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial continues today as a vital organization "dedicated to advancing the human rights movement through providing innovative support to courageous human rights defenders around the world."

Remembering and reflecting... Rob

"In a world where there is a common lament that there are no more heroes, too often cynicism and despair are perceived as evidence of the death of moral courage. That perception is wrong. People of great valor and heart, committed to noble purpose, with long records of personal sacrifice, walk among us in every country of the world." Kerry Kennedy

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Welcome

I am remembering Thomas Merton 40 years after his pilgrimage to Asia in 1968. I'll be reading "The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton", studying some of the background texts, looking at the historical events of Merton's time, and generally using the opportunity to discover more about Merton and his message for today.

A very special welcome to those joining us from Donald Grayston's SFU class!

“The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.”Thomas Merton

A Cancer Journal

"A Cancer Journal" is a place where I share my experience of living with metastatic colon cancer. I've recently been diagnosed with a recurrence so have begun posting to this BLOG again.A Cancer Journal